Spyware Fix

[BROCKDOE]

Does anybody know any good programs to rid the PC of Spyware and what not?!

my mates computer is up $h*t creek.

Cheers,

Brock

[-Dukes-]

I normally recommend Spybot Search and Destroy, I used it for about 3 years.

But recenctly I haven't been able to run it because my computer is infected with spyware, the "firewall" keeps turning off and my virus scanner won't update automatically...

So, I bought a mac on the weekend.

EDIT:

[willL]

  -Dukes- said:

So, I bought a mac on the weekend.

EDIT:

exactly what I did, got sick of buggy PC's that needed reformating every 8-10 months.

[BROCKDOE]

*Purchases Mac*

too easy thanks haha

[Kerr34]

macs are good if you dont wanna do any work

[Ehgriez]

Yeah macs are great if you dont need to actually use your ocmputer to do anything other than store music and go on facebook.

Also the big halo about them not getting viruses is starting to crash and burn, as they become more popular so do viruses for them.

[trav_33]

yeah macs are great im looking at buying one soon but i use AVG on my comp

[Sklyn]

I have found Super AntiSpyware and Malwarebytes' to be pretty good.

Also use Avast or AVG Antivirus

along with Spybot Search and Destroy

and Eusing Free Registry cleaner.

all free programs...

just don't go to dodgy porn sites and sign up your email to dodgy stuff!!

[BROCKDOE]

yer i warned him bout those pornsites... possibly from experience...

[bubba]

Spybot S&D and Adaware, use both.

If they can't fix it, then it's well beyond anything you can cope with and you need someone who knows what they're doing to remove the problem.

A bit of regular maintenance goes a long way too, clean out your cookies, cache, temp, history and prefetch folders.

[Deano45]

Malware bytes (free version, no need to upgrade to the paid one) and Spybot S & D

Both are quite good. I recently have found Malware Bytes to be better in picking up things that Spybot doesn't. Use a combination of both and between them they should pickup everything.

If these don't fix the problem, then you start to go into the territory on looking at the registry and using a program like hijack this to analyse what has been set to start from the registry. You need to be careful with this though as you can kill the computer if you don't know what you are looking for.

[Topaz]

malwarebytes

I am in IT. LISTEN TO ME!!!

[bubba]

If you don't know what you're doing, don't go near the registry

[~Ørphen~]

when a bought a new comp 3 years ago, my parents inheritted my old one, i wiped the hdd and completely reinstalled xp for them. within 2 weeks of them using it it was facked. even with norton 360 it got raped by malware, viruses, spammers, and blue screen of dooooom. i told mum, jokingly of course, that best way to get ridda the viruses n fix the comp was to zap the hdd in the microwave. she thought i was serious >.<* i bought them a new hdd and told them if they have any questions to call austin computers next time.

[-Dukes-]

My old trade was I.T (I got bored siting in a shop all day) I used to tell my customers that I would fault find for 30mins, anything after that it was more economical to reinstall windows and burn their data to a dvd... Because even if you remove the spyware its still never the same.

I must admit I was very skeptical about getting a Mac at first, but now I have one I don't know how I used my PC without smashing the screen with my fist, haha

[Ehgriez]

I dont bother with antivirus.

External HDD or for those that are too cheap create a partition.

Clean reformat every few months, no dodgy porn sites.

Problem solved.

Plus you dont haev to spend like every day updating virus definitions.

[D1Drifter]

i use anti-vir and windows defender and i havent had a problem

[Stinky Rooster]

comodo security suite FTW

(did I mention its free?)

[watup_gangsta]

Hey bro, I've always used spybot search and destroy which has always worked for me but you still need to have anti virus software as well as a firewall and adware removers... You've got to remember to keep updating every thing and imunizing your system other wise your computer will keep getting infected. I use www.download.com as my main source where I get my software from. You don't need to pay for anything you can still get good stuff for free.

For starters use http://download.cnet.com/Avira-AntiVir-Per...4-10322935.html as your anti virus. I've found that avg anti virus doesn't work well for me and it slows down my computer. Use http://download.cnet.com/Spybot-Search-amp...4-10122137.html for your spyware problem. Use http://download.cnet.com/Comodo-Internet-S....html?tag=mncol as your firewall

There is a program called content cleaner that really helps the computer to run fast... (http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html) This program is great but you've got to keep all the definitions up to date.

If any more questions just comment on my profile... Good luck, hope I helped.

[Mayuri Krab]

  bubba said:

A bit of regular maintenance goes a long way too, clean out your cookies, cache, temp, history and prefetch folders.

+1, with my current desktop (I bulid 1.5 years ago or so) I have never had any major virus or spyware problems. I use NOD 32 for AV & spybot & spyware doctor for spyware. But in the end common sense is the best defense against these sort of problems.